THE WINES
Alans Cabernets
Alans Cabernets Pressings
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Springflat Shiraz
Springflat Shiraz Pressings
Shiraz Reserve
Shiraz Malbec
The Blend
Merlot Reserve
Sparkling Duck
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Made every year since 1989, the Alans Cabernets has been a single vineyard wine. Planted as a full Bordeaux blend, principally Cabernet Sauvignon, with some Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The very low pH quartz buckshot shale soils peg the production naturally to 1 to 1.5 tons per acre. The vineyard itself is protected from wind by an amphitheatre of hills and forest, and consequently ripens slowly but surely to between 13 and 14.5 Baume and holds its natural acidity most years between 7 and 8g/L. The wine is principally made from the free run out of the press and given 100% new French oak. The Alans Cabernets is a wine made for cellaring, and is recommended to be consumed beyond four years from release for best results. No filtration. Closed under premium cork. Approximately 250 – 400 cases made annually.
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Alans Cabernets Pressings
The Alans Cabernets Pressings is last 5% of the wine from the press. Matured in new French oak. 150 magnums are bottled when the year has proved good enough, the rest gives our Duck Muck is spine. A rare wine only produced in exceptional years. No filtration. Closed under premium cork. Recommended for cellaring up to 12 years.
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Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Made solely of fruit from our Alans Cabernets vineyard, a special reserve pick is done and kept separate from the main pick. This involves searching through the vineyard (often on days up to a week apart from each other) for bunches of the most premium quality. This means no sunburn or shrivel, no green berries within the bunch, and definantly no broken skin on any berry. If a bunch shows any of these signs, they are rejected and are picked for the Alans Cabernets. This wine is only made in exceptional years.
Matured in French oak barriques for a minimum of 20 months. The cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is definantly a cellaring wine, and should have no trouble going 15 to 20 years. No filtration. Closed under premium cork. 80 to 100 cases produced in exceptional years.
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Springflat Shiraz
The first Springflat came from our winery block vineyard. It is approximately 2.5 acres, sits on quartz buckshot clay soils and its production is around 2 tones per acre. Planted in 1988, it has now reached maturity and is capable of producing fruit of incredible depth of flavour. Its position protects it from wind, thus creating frost susceptibility. In years of frost, the leaf to fruit ratio is dramatically increased, thus producing wines of exceptional intensity, which led to the discovery of the Duck Muck.
Since then, several other vineyards on exceptional sites scattered across the Heathcote region have produced that has made it into the Springflat. By enlarge, these vineyards are 12 years + in age and are dry grown on the Cambrian volcanic soils of the southern part of the Mt Camel range. These vineyards are run to our discression, cropping less than 2 tons per acre, producing complex flavours only their particular sites can, which enables the Springflat Shiraz to broaden in complexity and reliability. Matured in 45% new French and American hogsheads for 15 to 18 months. Recommended to be consumed up to 12 years from release. No filtration. Closed under premium cork or screw cap at the Standing Order Customer’s discression. Approximately 1800 cases made annually.
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Produced only in exceptional years, the final pressings are kept aside matured in new French and American barriques for 15 to 18 months. A rare wine only produced in exceptional years. No filtration. Closed under premium cork. Recommended for cellaring up to 12 years. Approximately 80 to 100 cases produced.
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The fruit is taken predominantly from our original Springflat vineyard at the winery. Only in exceptional years has select bunch picks been performed on one other of our vineyards at Mt Camel. Made in the same vein as the Cabernet Sauvignon reserve, a select bunch pick is done for the flawless bunches. This wine is then matured in new French oak barriques and hogsheads. An extensive individual barrel tasting is then performed to select the best barrels for final blending.
No filtration. Closed under premium cork. Approximately 150 cases produced in exceptional years.
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The first of this wine was produced in 2001, which was a single vineyard wine from the Yellow Hammer Hill vineyard owned by close friends Dawn Bennet, Andrew Carter and Gary Beer. Comprising of approximately 70% Shiraz and 30% Malbec, this wine was made for easy drinking with most food. A wine originally exclusively sold in restaurants, it became so popular among restaurant goers that we have made it available to our Standing Order customers and the general public at the winery until sold out. Malbec has been a favorite variety of David’s for a long time, its floral nose and soft spicy flavours make it a perfect blending friend of Shiraz, and the resulting wine pliable to most dishes with or without meat.
The shiraz is matured in one to four year old French and American hogsheads, the Malbec in one to four year old American hogsheads, both for 15 to 18 months. Closed under screw cap. No filtration. Recommended for consumption up to 10 years from release. Approximately 300 cases made annually.
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Originally called ‘Merlot Cab Franc’, The Blend for years was just that, a blend of two varieties from two vineyards in two different regions, the Yarra Valley and Heathcote. A small vineyard owned by Allen and Libby Williams in Kangaroo Ground provided Merlot, and the Alans Cabernet vineyard provided the Cabernet Franc. Since then ‘The Blend’ has evolved to include Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from a vineyard owned by Arthur Glazebrook on an eastern facing slope in the southern most area of the Bendigo region at Sutton Grange. It is cropped at 1 to 1.5 tons/acre. The wine now also contains Cabernet Sauvignon from the northern parts of the Heathcote Region, which broadens the palate.
Matured in two to five-year-old French and American hogsheads. No filtration. Closed under screw cap. Recommended for consumption up to seven years from release. Approximately 300 cases produced annually.
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Merlot Reserve
The Merlot Reserve is rare wine, with only three ever being made. Originally produced from grapes grown in the Alans Cabernet vineyard, the last one made (2001) included grapes from the St Michaels vineyard on the southern part of the Mt Camel range. Merlot is a very difficult variety to grow super premium grapes, thus this wine is only produced in exceptional years it stands out on its own.
Matured in one and two year old French hogsheads for 18 months. No filtration. Closed under premium cork. Recommended for consumption up to 12 years from release.
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Sparkling Duck
A non-vintage sparkling, Shiraz is blended in barrel from vintages dating back to 1993, and then turned into a sparkling via Methode Champenoir. It is left undisturbed on lees for up to 36 months then riddled, disgorged and corked as finished wine. Created in a dry style, the resulting wine will only ever have residual sugar left from secondary fermentation in the bottle, if any. The wine is topped with base the original Shiraz then corked. A wine to be enjoyed at any stage.
Wines Produced:
Sparkling Duck 1 NV – Ready to drink now
Sparkling Duck 2 NV – Ready to drink now
Sparkling Duck 3 NV – Ready to drink now
Sparkling Duck 4 NV – Ready to drink now